Remember when Jacinda Ardern said, rather tearfully, ‘I don’t have enough in the tank.’ A sniffle later, the former Prime Minister added, ‘I have no plan. No next steps. All I know is whatever I do, I will find ways to keep working for New Zealand and that I am looking forward to spending time with my family again, arguably, they are the ones that have sacrificed the most out of all of us.’

It is the sort of speech Churchill or Reagan might give, battle-weary after a lengthy global conflict or several decades at the top of politics, not the youngest leader of a peaceful nation in the prime of her life. Ardern’s premature exhaustion does not paint her as a brilliant role model for women…

Mind you, dramatically fainting out of politics is better than admitting she was suffering from extreme unpopularity. This was her swan dive out of power before the pushers came in.

‘I thought that I would need to change dramatically to survive. I didn’t. I leave this place as sensitive as I ever was – prone to dwell on the negative, hating [Parliamentary] question time so deeply that I would struggle to eat most days beforehand. I am here to tell you, you can be that person and you can be here.’

Her political passions were, according to Ardern, climate change, child poverty, and inequality.

‘Tired’ or not, you just can’t keep a good socialist down.

‘Socialist’ is not hurled at Ardern as a lazy slur – it is an accurate description of her political framework. She proudly sat as the elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth in 2008, shortly before being elected to Parliament. Her fascination with identity politics reflects her socialist upbringing.

Given that socialism is allergic to monarchy, it is curious to see Ardern crawling over to His Majesty, King Charles III and his son, the Prince of Wales, where she is to sit as a trustee of the Earthshot Prize, set up by the latter.

As far as hysterical climate alarmism goes, the Earthshot Prize is at the lower end of the food chain. It is a relatively harmless nest of luvvies facilitating a handful of worthwhile projects hidden among the time-wasters, virtue-signallers, and devoted eco-cultists.

Actually, it is the perfect role for Ardern.

Last September, @JacindaArdern attended our Innovation Summit in NYC, where she spoke about the critical need for innovation to positively impact our environmental trajectory.

We’re delighted that she’ll be joining our board!

?Watch the full speech: https://t.co/FkNRrYXCyI pic.twitter.com/18xhsRFaSh

— The Earthshot Prize (@EarthshotPrize) April 4, 2023

Also on the cards for the exhausted former Prime Minister is her desire to crack down on ‘hate speech’. Putting her anywhere near the halls of censorship after she declared – infamously – that the New Zealand government would be the ‘sole source of truth’, probably isn’t the best idea.

While her intentions regarding stopping another Christchurch is understandable, it remains unlikely that this is what any increase in powers will focus on. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence over the last three years to suggest that the government’s version of ‘hate speech’ might include civil liberty, medical autonomy, climate realism, and anti-racist dialogue that opposes things like The Three Waters.

Basically, ‘hateful’ may be interpreted as anything that goes as against the wishes and teaching of the socialist state.

Even in her closing speech, Ardern continued to talk about the ‘hate speech’ behind so-called Covid conspiracies (which pretty much all turned out to be true). Initially, Ardern thought that she could force people to agree with her by talking at them in endless Covid press conferences.

‘But after many of these same experiences, and seeing the rage that often sat behind these conspiracies, I had to accept that I was wrong.’

There was nothing loving or tolerant about New Zealand’s treatment of those who wished to refrain from Covid vaccines due to fears over their safety. That is the problem at the heart of socialist politics (rather than small government conservatism) which typified the Ardern leadership. Socialists believe that the needs of the collective outrank the civil liberties of the individual, which is why totalitarian behaviour always develops in their leaders, even those who preach love.

‘Terrorist and violent extremist content online is a global issue, but for many in New Zealand it is also very personal,’ said Ardern.

Although Ardern speaks out against religious hate, it is unlikely we will hear the former Prime Minister condemn the attack on women’s rights and the very real hounding of vulnerable women at the hands of the activist trans community during the Let Women Speak rally.

The international stage has side-eyed ‘peaceful, tolerant’ New Zealand as a hotbed of hate after women were attacked in broad daylight by angry men.

Tackling online hate, if Ardern earnestly wishes to do so, will involve squaring off against the boisterous corners of the trans community. Does she have the courage to fight hate against women?

The problem with policing speech instead of policing disturbed behaviour is that no leader in history has shown restraint. Censorship is a powerful weapon, especially in the hands of those who are enthusiastically politicised.

The situation is worsened by the behaviour of the modern left, who routinely paint anyone who refuses to subscribe to their ideological thought bubbles as ‘dangerous’ and ‘hateful’.

While Ardern sells this mission as cracking down on random acts of violence by disturbed individuals, odds are the bulk of work will involve things like addressing ‘hateful’ memes making fun of the government and activist groups, as we have seen in the UK.

As of a few hours ago, Jacinda Ardern gave her final speech to Parliament. Admitting she had never expected to end up as Prime Minister, she said:

‘It was a cross between a sense of duty to steer a moving freight train … and being hit by one. And that’s probably because my internal reluctance to lead was matched only by a huge sense of responsibility.’

Ardern re-confirmed her commitment to the global climate movement.

‘Climate change is a crisis. It is upon us. And so one of the very few things I will ask of this house on my departure is that you please take the politics out of climate change.’

The left have clawed their way to power by playing politics with the climate, terrifying adults and children alike into believing, falsely, that the world is going to end in some sort of imminent hellfire (or flood with rising sea levels?).

Ardern wants to take the politics out of the climate because people around the world are starting to realise that politicians have sold them a very expensive and very dangerous lie that has led to serious infringements on civil and corporate freedoms.

Asking to take climate off the political menu is the sound of a dying ideology. It is also an attempt to wriggle out of the obvious climate hypocrisies that riddled her leadership. You cannot shill for the climate and then beg American tourists to fly in by their tens of thousands to boost the New Zealand tourist industry.

The politics of climate will be the unpicking of her legacy, as will the pending court cases against Covid vaccines and pandemic measures which, in the cold light of 2023, are looking increasingly insane. Ardern was a popular leader in a time of madness that pandered to the mob. Rarely, if ever, does such a regime age well.

Get 10 issues for just $10

Subscribe to The Spectator Australia today for the next 10 magazine issues, plus full online access, for just $10.

SUBSCRIBE 10 issues for $10 REGISTER 3 articles a month

Already a subscriber? Log in